Cutthroat restoration planned in Game Creek
JACKSON, Wyo. (KIFI/KIDK)-Wyoming Game and Fish biologists are making plans to restore native Snake River cutthroat trout to Game Creek, south of Jackson.
To do that, officials plan to apply rotenone to the stream during one day during the summers of 2020 and 2021. The treatments are intended to remove all brook trout. The applications will be made in late August when water levels are low. It occurs when water levels are low and before the brook trout spawn in the fall. Game Creek will be detoxified prior to entering Flat Creek, so the chemical will be contained to that stream.
According to sampling records, Game Creek was a thriving spawning stream for Snake River Cutthroat. By 2016, though, none were found in any sampling upstream from the highway.
Biologists say the species’ Game Creek decline was caused by two factors. The first was the stocking of brook trout into the stream between 1941 and 1983. Then, the rerouting of Highway 89 to the west side of the Snake River in the 1960’s included a culvert that blocked fish passage from Flat Creek.
Once both rotenone treatments are complete, Snake River Cutthroat will be stocked back into Game Creek. That should create fishing opportunities shortly after the treatment. The program will not only return a native species to a spawning stream, but protect Flat Creek and the Snake River from another brook trout invasion.
